Stair tread structure

ABSTRACT

A stair tread structure includes a tread body made up of a core layer, a plurality of lateral connecting members, a tread end member, a plurality of external connecting sheets, and an elongate nose member wherein the core layer and the tread end member are respectively made up of one or more than one board bodies of recycled wood, plywood, sawdust, and other lower quality materials that are integrally processed and firmly bonded into one piece. The core layer has a pair of lateral coupling portions symmetrically protruding at both lateral end surfaces thereon, and the lateral connecting member is provided with a coupling groove indented at one lateral end surface to correspondingly match with the coupling portions of the core layer for close engagement therewith. Therefore, via the aforementioned structure thereof, the tread body obtained thereby is efficiently manufactured in an easier and speedier manner and economically processed with the best use of recycled resources for environmental protection thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a stair tread structure, including atread body made up of a core layer, a plurality of lateral connectingmembers, a tread end member, a plurality of external connecting sheets,and an elongate nose member wherein the core layer and the tread endmember are respectively made up of one or more than one board bodies ofrecycled wood, plywood, sawdust, and other lower quality materials thatare integrally processed and firmly bonded into one piece with thelateral connecting members, the external connecting sheets, and thetread nose member securely glued thereto via synthetic adhesive,facilitating an easier and speedier manufacturing process of the treadbody to achieve economical efficiency as well as environmentalprotection thereof.

Please refer to FIG. 1. A conventional stair tread structure asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,398 comprises a tread body 10 made upof an elongate nose member 11, and a plurality of elongate tread pieces12 glued laterally adjacent to each other wherein the nose member 11 hasa curved front flange 111 protruding at one edge thereof. Each of theelongate tread pieces 12 is made up of a top layer 121 of higher qualitymaterial and a core layer of lower quality material, which are mutuallybonded together via fastening glue.

There are some drawbacks to such conventional stair tread structure.First, the tread body 10 is made up of multiple tread pieces 12 that areglued laterally adjacent to each other before the nose member 11 isapplied and bonded thereto, which is quite tedious and complicated inthe manufacturing process and uneconomical in terms of efficiencythereof. Second, the tread body 10 with the tread pieces 12 and the nosemember 11 simply glued together provides a rather poor and inconsistentbonding that can cause the connected tread pieces 12 to dissever andmake the tread body 10 inconvenient in use. Third, the tread piece 12 ofthe tread body 10 is made up of the top layer 121 of higher qualitymaterial and the core layer 122 of lower quality material mutually gluedtogether wherein the lateral end surfaces of the tread body 10 areexposed outsides without any decoration thereon, which tends to mar thebeauty of the tread body 10 thereof as a whole.

Please refer to FIG. 2 showing a perspective view of U.S. Pat. No.6,596,362. Another conventional stair tread structure includes anelongate nose member 20, a plurality of elongate tread bodies 30, and atread end member 40 wherein the nose member 20 has a semi-circular frontflange 21 disposed thereon, and each of the elongate tread bodies 30 ismade up of a core layer 31 with corresponding upper and lower surfacelayers 32, 33 laminated at both top and bottom sides thereon. The corelayer 31 (referring to FIG. 3) includes middle pieces 311 of varioussizes glued together at the middle section thereof, and two lateral endpieces 312 of different sizes to match and bond with the middle pieces311 thereby.

There are some disadvantages to the second conventional stair treadstructure. First, the various-sized middle pieces 311 of the core layer31 thereof must be connected with the lateral end pieces 312 before theupper and lower surface layers 32, 33 are glued to the core layer 31 toprovide an elongate tread body 30 thereby, and the multiple tread bodies30 each having a core layer 31 made up of the middle pieces 311 and thelateral end pieces 312 of different sizes are sequentially bond one withanother before the nose member 20 and the tread end member 40 arerespectively applied to attach to the adjacent front and rear connectingsurfaces of the elongate tread bodies 30 therewith. The stair treadobtained thereby is, therefore, characterized by a complicatedmanufacturing process that, taking a lot of time and efforts, is ratheruneconomical in terms of efficiency. Second, the elongate tread body 30must be individually assembled via the core layer 31 thereof laminatedwith the upper and lower surface layers 32,33 thereof before combinedwith the other finished elongate tread bodies 30, the nose member 20,and the tread end member 40 thereof respectively, which, with a poor andinconsistent bonding, can easily cause the detachment and deformation ofthe assembled elongate tread bodies 30 thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is, therefore, the primary purpose of the present invention toprovide a stair tread structure, including a tread body made up of acore layer, a plurality of lateral connecting members, a tread endmember, a plurality of external connecting sheets, and an elongate nosemember wherein the core layer and the tread end member are respectivelymade up of one or more than one board bodies of recycled wood, plywood,sawdust, and other lower quality materials that are integrally processedand bonded into one piece, efficiently making the best use of recycledresources for environmental protection thereof.

It is, therefore, the second purpose of the present invention to providea stair tread structure wherein the core layer, the lateral connectingmembers, the tread end member, the external connecting sheets, and theelongate nose member are integrally processed and quickly bondedtogether via synthetic adhesive, facilitating an easier and speediermanufacturing thereof to achieve the economical efficiency and avoid therisk of detachment and deformation of the stair body thereof.

It is, therefore, the third purpose of the present invention to providea stair tread structure wherein the elongate nose member of the treadbody is provided with a curved front flange that can be alternativelymade to provide various decorative patterns thereon, achieving thestylistic change and beauty of the stair tread thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,398.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,362.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the above U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,362 inassembly.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially assembled perspective view of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is another partially assembled perspective view of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the present invention partiallyassembled and processed.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the present invention partiallyassembled.

FIG. 9 is an assembled perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the present invention finished inassembly and processing.

FIG. 11 is another assembled and processed perspective view of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 4. The present invention is related to a stairtread structure, including a tread body 50 made up of a core layer 51, aplurality of lateral connecting members 52, a tread end member 53, aplurality of external connecting sheets 54, and an elongate nose member55. The core layer 51 and the tread end member 53 are respectively madeup of one or more than one board bodies 511, 531 that, integrallyprocessed and firmly bonded into one piece, can be made of recycledwooden material, plywood, sawdust, and other lower quality materials.Besides, the core layer 51 is provided with a pair of lateral couplingportions 512 symmetrically protruding at both end surfaces thereon, andeach lateral connecting member 52 is equipped with a lateral couplinggroove 521 disposed at one end surface therein correspondingly matchingto the lateral coupling portion 512 of the core layer 51 for mutualengagement therewith.

Please refer to FIGS. 5 through 11 inclusive. In assembly, the couplinggrooves 521 of the lateral connecting members 52 are respectivelyapplied with synthetic adhesive at proper positions and firmly gluedwith the lateral coupling portions 512 of the core layer 51 thereby. Thetread end member 53 with synthetic adhesive properly applied at onelongitudinal lateral side thereon is fixedly attached to the adjacentend surface of the assembled core layer 51 and the lateral connectingmembers 52 as shown in FIG. 5. Then, the external connecting sheets 54are applied from both upper and lower sides to firmly bond via syntheticadhesive with the top and bottom surfaces of the core layer 51, thelateral connecting members 52 and the tread end member 53 withprotrusive edges 541 extending outwards from the four end surfaces ofthe assembled core layer 51, the lateral connecting members 52, and thetread end member 53 as shown in FIG. 6. The protrusive edges 541 of theupper/lower external connecting sheets 54 are then trimmed and removedthere-from as shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and the elongate nose member 55 withsynthetic adhesive properly applied at one longitudinal end surfacethereon is laterally fixed to the adjacent connecting end surface of thecore layer 51 opposite to the tread end member 53 thereof as shown inFIG. 9. Then, the elongate nose member 55 is further processed at onelateral end to provide a curved front flange 551 as shown in FIG. 10wherein the curved front flange 551 thereof can be alternatively made toprovide various decorative patterns thereon such as rib-like ones asshown in FIG. 11. Therefore, the tread body 50 obtained thereby isefficiently manufactured and economically processed in an easier andspeedier manner, which can not only avoid the risk of warping anddeformation in the production thereof, but also can make the best use ofrecycled resources for the protection of environment.

Please refer to FIG. 12 showing another embodiment of the presentinvention. The present invention can also comprise a tread body 60 madeup of a core layer 61, a plurality of external connecting sheets 62, atread end member 63, and an elongate nose member 64 that are firmlybonded together via synthetic adhesive. The core layer 61 is equippedwith a plurality of protrusive coupling portions 611 that, each havingarcuate connecting faces 612 cut at both edges thereof, are equallyspaced out at one (or both) lateral end(s) thereof in continuous with anadjacent curved edge surface 613 defining one side of the lateral end(s)thereof. A lateral connecting member 65, having a plurality of couplingrecesses 651 each defined by an opening edge 652 and a stop facet 653 atboth sides thereof to form a connecting end surface 654 thereon, isprovided to correspondingly engage with the protrusive coupling portions611 of the core layer 61 thereby. Besides, the connecting end surface654 of the lateral connecting member 65 has an arcuate edge face 6541defining one side thereof, closely matching with the curved edge surface613 of the core layer 61 so as to provide alternative stylisticvariation of the stair tread thereby.

1. A stair tread structure, including a tread body made up of a corelayer, a plurality of lateral connecting members, a tread end member, aplurality of external connecting sheets, and an elongate nose memberwherein the core layer and the tread end member are respectively made upof one or more than one board bodies integrally processed and bondedinto one piece; in assembly, the lateral connecting members arerespectively applied with synthetic adhesive at proper positions thereonand firmly glued to the core layer in a sequence; then, the tread endmember with synthetic adhesive applied at one longitudinal lateral sidethereon is fixedly attached to the assembled core layer and the lateralconnecting members before the external connecting sheets are appliedfrom both upper and lower sides to be closely fastened via syntheticadhesive to the top and bottom surfaces of the core layer, the lateralconnecting members and the tread end member with protrusive edges that,extending outwards from the four end surfaces thereof, are neatlytrimmed and removed there-from; finally, the elongate nose member withsynthetic adhesive properly applied at one longitudinal end surfacethereon is fixedly glued to the adjacent connecting end surface of thecore layer and further processed at one lateral end to provide a curvedfront flange; therefore, the tread body obtained thereby is efficientlymanufactured in an easier and speedier manner and economically processedwith the best use of recycled resources for environmental protectionthereof.
 2. The stair tread structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein theboard bodies of the core layer and the tread end member can be made ofrecycled wooden material, plywood, sawdust, and other lower qualitymaterials.
 3. The stair tread structure as claimed in claim 1 whereinthe core layer is provided with a pair of lateral coupling portionssymmetrically protruding at both lateral end surfaces thereon.
 4. Thestair tread structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lateralconnecting member is equipped with a coupling groove indented at onelateral end surface thereon.
 5. The stair tread structure as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the curved front flange of the tread nose member thereofcan be alternatively made to provide various decorative patternsthereon.
 6. The stair tread structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein thecore layer can also be equipped with a plurality of protrusive couplingportions each having arcuate connecting faces cut at both edges thereof,and a curved edge surface defining one side in continuous of theprotrusive coupling portions thereof, correspondingly matching with alateral connecting member having a plurality of coupling recesses eachdefined by an opening edge and a stop facet at both sides thereof toform a connecting end surface with an arcuate edge face for closeengagement with the curved edge surface of the core layer thereby. 7.The stair tread structure as claimed in claim 6 wherein the protrusivecoupling portions of the core layer are equidistantly spaced out inarrangement thereof.
 8. The stair tread structure as claimed in claim 6wherein the arcuate connecting faces disposed at both edges of eachprotrusive coupling portion of the core layer are precisely mated withthe stop facet of the lateral connecting member thereof for closeengagement therewith.
 9. The stair tread structure as claimed in claim 6wherein the protrusive coupling portions with the curved edge surfacethereof can be disposed at one lateral end surface of the core layerthereof.
 10. The stair tread structure as claimed in claim 6 wherein theprotrusive coupling portions with the curved edge surface thereof canalso be disposed at both lateral end surfaces of the core layer thereof.